u/pattebrisee

There’s this weird thing that happens at shows where you’ll meet someone for maybe 10 minutes and then they just live in your brain forever.

You dance next to them for a set, trade kandi, share water, help them find their friend, hype each other up during one song, have one weirdly sincere little conversation… and then that’s it. Gone into the void.

And somehow it still feels real?

Not even in a romantic way. More like “damn, I hope that person is doing good.”

Raves create these tiny temporary friendships that feel way bigger than the actual amount of time you spent together.

Do you have a random rave stranger you still think about?

​

I don’t think PLUR is dead. I think a lot of people just learned the aesthetic of rave culture before they learned the manners.

Like yeah, wear the fit, bring the fan, trade kandi, film a few seconds, go hard, have your main character moment. I love all of that.

But also:

Say excuse me when you move through the crowd.

Don’t shove your way to the rail 5 minutes before the headliner and act shocked when people are annoyed.

If you’re in the front, bring some energy or at least be aware of the people behind you.

Don’t use someone’s body as a barricade.

Fan people, don’t clack the fan next to someone’s ear for 20 minutes.

Check on the person who looks like they’re having a bad time.

Make room when someone needs to get out.

Wear earplugs. Future you is not built different.

The best crowds I’ve ever been in weren’t the ones with the craziest production or biggest lineup. They were the ones where everyone understood the unspoken agreement: we’re all here to lose ourselves a little, but not at the expense of everyone around us.

I’m curious what everyone else thinks.

What’s one piece of dancefloor etiquette you wish every new raver learned before their first show?

lineup posts are getting chaotic so let’s make this simple

drop 3 names:

your absolute can’t-miss set

your sleeper pick that people are not talking about enough

the popular set you’re probably skipping and you know people are gonna be mad about it

no “the whole lineup is stacked” answers. cowardly behavior.

mine is still changing every 10 minutes because i keep finding random names i didn’t know and now my schedule is cooked

maybe this is a bad take but i feel like the best edm nights now are the smaller shows where you can actually move, hear the system properly, and people are there for the music instead of filming the screen all night

don’t get me wrong, big festival sets can still be insane. i’m not anti-production or anything. lasers, pyro, visuals, all of that can be sick.

but lately some of the massive shows feel like you’re paying $200+ to watch a huge LED wall, fight through a packed crowd, get shoved by people who don’t say excuse me, and then see half the set through other people’s phones

meanwhile some random club night with a good sound system and a crowd that actually dances ends up being 10x more fun

am i just getting old or are smaller shows actually where the real energy is right now?

So who are y'all hoping makes an appearance this year? Excluding artists that show up every single year lol.

Personally, I'm crossing my fingers for a Griz appearance.

🦕

Can't wait to experience this feeling again! 🦕